The growth of Iris technology in 2017

India 28 December 2016: Biometrics is the technology used for the purpose of authentication and verification. It measures and analyzes both physiological and behavioral characteristics such as DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns, etc. for authentication or identification purposes of a human being. Of the various biometric technology Iris recognitions biometric market is beaming through an inspiring phase with high-octane growth trajectory. Biometrics market in India is projected to grow at a robust CAGR of over 35% till 2020 and Iris recognition is already starting to move to the mobile phone market as they are already equipped with iris authentication technology. The technology is vastly adaptable and can be applied where identity authentication and verification is of utmost importance. Iris recognition technology helps enhance application and device security, ensure optimum service delivery, eliminates fraud and maximize ease and convenience.

Growth in the market is anticipated on account of increasing use of IRIS recognition biometric products by governments for identifying beneficiary authentication to curb the misuse of the welfare schemes and simultaneously make sure the right benefits are reaching to the right person in right time across the country. Further the Iris recognition technology and also be implemented in military & defense, banking & finance, consumer electronics, travel & immigration, transportation and health care sectors. Furthermore incremental adoption and use of Iris recognition in corporate houses, schools and industries for identity and access management coupled with rising demand from IT / ITeS to authenticate access to confidential information are other factors that would help propel market growth over the next five years. In India, we have a huge scope for iris recognition technology as it is about “Who you are” and not about “What you can carry” or “What you can remember” and considering the working class population of India. Security solutions of the highest standards should not be a matter of luxury. Instead it should be treated as a necessity and should be made available for everyone at an economical price.

Adoption of iris recognition in the UID program, itself is the biggest boost to the biometric applications in India. Iris biometric is quickly growing in BFSI vertical due to Aadhaar. Moreover, the need for unique biometric property of human to authenticate an individual that are extremely difficult to hack, steal or replicate, unlike a token or password is enabling the shift from traditional authentication methods to biometrics.

In BFSI, e-KYC and identity/access management is the key requirement. E-commerce is looking for biometric layer of security using Iris Recognition for payment transaction. Other business segment like telecommunication, retail, educational institution etc., are looking for identity verification in the areas of T&A, access control as well as monitoring individuals in various activities. e-Governance applications has humongous scope for the iris technology. Aadhaar UID is becoming the tool for identity verification when it comes to beneficiary authentication. In e-Governance, G2C relation includes the services provided by the Government to the Citizens. These services include the public utility services i.e. Telecommunication, Transportation, Post, Medical facilities, Electricity, Education and also some of the democratic services relating to the citizenship such as Certification, Registration, Licensing, Taxation, Passports, ID Cards etc. Therefore citizen authentication in e-Governance application in G2C,C2G, G2G, G2B relationship is imperative in controlling misuse and freezing loopholes. Border Security and other involving industrial security are in the iris recognition adoption stage to track and manage the flow of humans across borders for entrance and exit during immigration. Focused major verticals we are looking at are BFSI and telecommunications.

The latest iris scanner can be useful in our day to day lives as well. It can be fixed outside our door and used for key less entry. It can double up as additional security for mobiles and personal computers and even apps, email clients and social networking websites. Iris Recognition Technology eradicates manual validation and proxies, encourages punctuality and efficiency in schools and organizations where capturing attendance is mandatory. It can be further used for forensic & criminal investigation, for security checks at airports and border security. It can also be useful at data centres, labs, hospitals, banks and utility centres. Even if an individual’s laptop or mobile is lost or stolen nobody can access if it’s operated through the iris. The application is quite compatible with any website which requires username or password. The technology can also be in synced with debit cards and credit cards as along with PINs the cards won’t work unless iris is scanned. Every digital or online payment will be connected to AADHAR database. At airports and borders, the security check can be time consuming. Also there are cases of identity theft and change of identity which can be of serious nature. This again can be eliminated as iris scanners can provide the highest levels of security compared to other forms of biometric methods.

The Iris biometrics market is developing rapidly with increasing demand for better beneficiary authentication in Govt. vertical as well as better identification and monitoring of humans with many use-cases in other verticals.